Parents & Carers

Parents, carers and residentsWe want Christchurch to be the best city to grow up in New Zealand. A child and youth friendly city, where children and young people are valued, supported, enjoy growing up and look forward to a bright future.

Parents and carers are instrumental to the success of a Child Friendly City. Parents and carers are the biggest influence in a young child’s life. This means, as a parent or carer your actions and teachings have a large impact on your child. Your child cannot vote so it is up to you when doing so to take into consideration what is best for them. You are in a position to support initiatives in your city that consider children and young peoples’ best interests. Also, parents and carers have the ability to surround their children with people who will care and look out for him or her, to establish relationships within their community and provide a safe environment for their children to grow up in and in doing so giving their children the best possible chance to realise their potential.

How can I get involved?Christchurch is your city, and it’s for you and your family to enjoy! Think about what you could do to make Christchurch a better place for children and young people, and act on it.Some ideas to get you started…You can:

get involved as a volunteer with your local school sports team or after school group

read with your child as much as possible, talk to them, listen to them and involve them in decision making

become a foster carer

become a Child and Youth Friendly champion and encourage others to do their bit

Check out what this mum has done

I’ve been taking steps to support change in my neighbourhood since motherhood has helped me realize that our city needs more child-friendly outdoor spaces (more parks for kids to play in as there are so many more people living downton) and while I’ve been active on a few fronts, today I heard some promising news about a deadline for a park that is scheduled to be ready in a few weeks!!

Together we’ll make Christchurch a child and youth friendly city where children and young people: